Butterfly Effect
by ThisWillBeFun
Summary: Seireiti, the Court of Pure Here, Soul Reapers work tirelessly to maintain the Still, those who live outside it strive for the Soul Reapers' more cultured Some souls come to aid to aid those who helped them in their hour of Some just get bored of the tiny Some even decide to arrive in the middle of a potential multiversal
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: That's probably not normal

"Ah, District Number One at last!" the weary traveler sighed with great confidence.

Finally, after all these….amounts of time, Carter Evans was only one town away from entering Seireitei! Strange, though. This was the town closest to Seireiti, most likely the most important in all of Rukongai besides the capitol, and yet, it was completely deserted, just like the past ten or so. Very weird.

Oh well. No people meant no bad people. Considering the run in he had with those thieves in District 43, those drunks from 37, those other drunks from 34, those other thieves from 21, those drunk thieves from 17, and those devil children from 14, this was rather welcome. Still, there was a bit of a feeling of uneasiness in the thought that one of the busiest places in the entire afterlife was completely empty.

Well, of course it wasn't really _empty_; everyone was obviously just in their houses or other various shelters. They weren't gone, just hiding. Carter wasn't sure _why _everyone for the past ten to fifteen districts was avoiding all contact with the world outside. Granted, it wasn't his business what other people did or their reasoning behind their actions. All that mattered was that the Court of Pure Souls was just within reach at last!

The wandering soul had to admit, if it weren't for the lack of people not cowering in fear for some unknown reason, this would actually be a fun place to stop. There were a few good-looking restaurants, bars, shops, and the ilk. Definitely a step up from a number of the other towns he visited. After all this time, he could use a drink or two. Maybe even a bite to eat. Sure, he didn't need to eat in this world, but it wouldn't hurt getting a bit of a congratulatory dinner. Or was it lunch? The sky had been so dark recently that he wasn't exactly able to tell how much time had passed.

Well, at least the well was completely unmanned. All that sweet, succulent, tasteless water all to himself! If there was one thing the teenager's short time in the afterlife had taught him, it was that water was precious above all things. Whenever you saw a chance for it, take it, or else someone else well. Seemed like a simple enough concept to him.

* * *

A couple minutes later, Carter was fresh and rejuvenated, ready for whatever the world had to throw at him! Well, it should only take a couple hours or so before he reached the gates, so he figured it was best just to keep moving. It looked like a storm was brewing.

Wow. At last, the gates of Seireiti were before him. The gates to glory! The Court of Pure Souls was open to Carter Hashimoto and nothing was in his way! Literally nothing. The gate was wide open and unguarded. Even as Carter took his first look into the highlife, he still saw no one. There were a bunch of expensive looking buildings, but not a single living being. Dead person. Soul. There wasn't a single living soul. Man, afterlife terminology could get really confusing. Still, this was weird. It was normal for Rukongai residents to collectively cower in fear, but the Soul Reapers? From what he heard, they could slice the moon if they wanted! What would a little storm, especially one that hadn't even started yet, have on people that strong?

Speaking of which, what was up with the sky anyway? The hell kind of storm was this supposed to be? It was just looming above for the past…amounts of time. Probably a week. Stupid cloud was always blocking the sun, so he could never tell! Not to mention, he had no one to talk to because of it! Now how was he supposed to find the academy?

Stupid sky. Nothing but black and a small white rift in time and space. Wait, what? Carter quickly did a double take at the sky. He may not have been in Soul Society for long, but he was pretty sure that wasn't normal. Wait, something was coming out of it. It was small, but everything was noticeable when silhouetted by a two-dimensional ray of light in the otherwise pitch black sky. It looked kind of like a butterfly.

Hm…butterfly. Wait, could it be one of those hell butterflies he'd heard about. Those little spiritual beings that can communicate telepathically and guide Soul Reapers to the Living World. There was even a common belief, though little more than a myth, that should they have the incentive, they could take on captain class Reapers on their own. Although this had never been put to test, everyone just figured the Soul Reapers knew better than to treat them with disrespect. Wait, why did that matter now? Now should be the time to question why it was coming out of a rift in the sky and why a tiny twister was following it. Actually, it looked a bit more like a hand.

Wait, what? By now, Carter just decided to screw it and run towards the nearest shelter. Twister or evil hand, it wasn't his business. The only thing that mattered now was not getting involved. It was probably just best to wait for it to blow over. Hopefully, none of the Soul Reapers here would mind a non-Reaper trying to save his own skin. All he had to do is make sure his coast was clear. One short glance confirmed that everything was perfectly clea-Crap!

Butterflywascomingwithevilhandofdarknesstowardshim ! Thiswasnotgood, thiswasbad, reallybad, worsethannotgood! Hejusthadtokeeponrunning, nothingcouldhurthimthen!

As the young soul was running for his life with his brain activity being less than the jumbles at the back of the newspaper, he could just barely notice his feet lifting off the stone ground. It took a clear view of the hell butterfly from before holding him by the back of his robe to cause him to realize the true nature of his situation. The butterfly was kidnapping him.

"Put me down!" Carter screamed as his driver made a sharp turn to avoid a collision with a tower. "The hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Saving your life," the booming voice of the butterfly responded, just as annoyed as its cargo.

Carter's mouth couldn't help but gape at the dark creature's voice. He knew they could communicate telepathically, mainly to carry messages and such, but he could tell what he heard was not a communication of the mind. It was clearly audible. And for that matter, he'd never heard of one communicating back. All they ever did was record messages and send them to whoever needed them. Some even questioned their sentiency because of their seeming lack of opinion.

Still, that one statement, the infliction in its voice, it was all…more than a recording. It was an opinion, an annoyed one. It was a sense of responsibility. It was a hand reaching straight towards them. Oh. He forgot about that.

"Crap," the butterfly muttered under its breath. "Listen, I'm going to have to drop you for a bit."

"What?!" Carter shouted back in anger.

"I need to lighten the load for now," it assured, though in a decidedly annoyed matter. "I'll make sure to catch you before you hit the ground."

"The ground!?" For the first time since getting "saved" by this strange creature, Carter looked down. Holy crap. That was high. Too high. It was splattering high. It was high enough to cause all of your guts to explode in several different directions for several miles if you hit the ground. Carter always had a thing about heights. That, and the sensation of falling. In fact, he was also scared of hitting the ground from a great height. This was multiple direction exploding high. He did not want to do thi-

"AHHHHHHH!" Carter screamed as the far away buildings were becoming closer to him. His mind was scrambling once again, trying to find a small sense of comfort. If he could just convince himself that this wouldn't result in his mortal demise, maybe the impact wouldn't hurt as much.

Come to think of it, would this really even be his mortal demise. Hadn't he already suffered that? Granted, he wasn't immortal now, but he was definitely dead. Yet he was still supposed to live for hundreds of years. Strange how you live considerably longer after dying. Well, maybe that wasn't the case he got killed right now, but…

Oh, wait. He just remembered the extreme peril he was currently in. Crap. Wow, that building looked pointy. And close. Pointy and close. That was a bad combination.

Well, Carter figured there was another life waiting for him back in the World of the Living. Maybe the next time he dies, he'll last a little longer in the afterlife. He had nothing much left to do but close his eyes and let whatever would happen happen.

* * *

A few seconds later, Carter felt nothing. Not even the rush of the wind had any sensation anymore. All that remained was silience in the darkness.

"Hey, idiot!" a booming voice called out from the darkness. Great. And here Carter thought this was one of those simple reincarnations. He thought that he'd just have to wait for the darkness to bring him to his next life. But no…now he was probably going to get a long speech from God or the Spirit King or whoever, probably while having to chase a light or something. It was probably the Spirit King. God probably wouldn't be as condescending as that voice. Kings, however…

"Idiot, open your eyes already!" Great, he _was_ going to get a speech! This was just how he wanted to spend his rebirth. Oh well, might as well listen to the king of condescending.

Oh. He wasn't dead. That was a good sign. Though, he could do without the sharp needle hovering approximately four inches away from his iris. Still, alive. Which meant that the voice was coming from…

"We have to hurry," the hell butterfly commanded while rushing the both of them down to the city streets. Carter didn't really see why he had to tell him that. It wasn't like his opinion mattered to a being of pure reishi. Eventually, the two stopped at a seemingly random street.

"We have to get to cover underground," it explained.

"How? You couldn't have just gone into one of the abandoned building?"

"Those aren't cover, they're easy targets. We have to go underground," it continued to insist, growing even more annoyed.

"Okay, Mr. Butterfly, how exactly are we going underground?" the young soul asked with a similar sense of annoyance, though one fueled mainly by a sense of urgency.

The hell butterfly responded by lifting off a manhole cover that was right next to them.

Carter paused for a bit. "No," he finally said. "I am not-"

"Oh no!" the butterfly shouted in a mocking manner that was lost on Carter. "A giant hand of darkness is behind you!"

The panicking boy looked to his back only to see that there was indeed a hand of darkness coming straight towards them. Before he could react, though, he was overcome by an unrelated darkness.

* * *

The butterfly gently set the unconscious body of his rescue on the sewer cement. Somebody should be around to help him. Probably. If there were any more survivors, they'd most likely be hiding down. Maybe someone who could heal the cut on the back of his head. To tell the truth, he thought he may have overdone that knock to the noggin. Oh well, there was no time to dwell on someone that small. He had a mission and he needed some way to think clearly. After just a few short moments with this guy, he knew the soul's presence wasn't going to aid in that.

'Eh, he'll be fine,' the butterfly thought to himself. 'That isn't too much blood. It can be washed off easily.'


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Well, that was nice

It was few hours later before Carter managed to wake from his unconscious state. He was lying on his side at the time, so the first thing he saw was the rushing waters of the sewage system. Goddammit. That stupid butterfly got his way after all. Oh well, maybe he was being mean considering he probably got his butt saved by the same butterfly, but he still wasn't a fan of the sewers.

He proceeded to feel the back of his head where he was hit, but was surprised to feel nothing. That was strange. What just occurred obviously wasn't a dream. Only a hell butterfly could've gotten him into a sewer, even with resistance. Still, he could've sworn he took a nasty blow to the head to make him more complacent. The pile of blood he was laying in supported his theory. So where the hell was his bruise?

"O..oh! S-sorry to wake you up, s-sir," a frightened voice stammered right out of Carter's field of vision. Carter was just as surprised to hear another soul's voice. What kind of weirdo would be in the sewers without the excuse of a hell butterfly? Well, he figured it'd probably be rude now to stay face down on the concrete in the face of company.

As soon as he got up from his awkward position, Carter got a good look at his guest. To be honest, considering the guy's weak tone from before, he didn't have much in terms of expectations to start with. Still, for his first non-insect interaction since arriving in Seireiti, Carter was a little shocking to be greeted by such a…

Wimp was probably the best word for the guy. To tell the truth, guy barely looked older than him and, even to Carter's relatively low standards, looked pretty weak. Though, he always thought his confident attitude helped distract from his lacking muscles. This guy was definitely lacking in the confidence department, as his weak attitude only accentuated his weak physique. The droopy eyes certainly didn't help, nor his scruffy hair. Yep, Carter wasn't usually one to judge, but this guy was definitely his definition of a wimp.

Then he noticed the black robe he was garbed in. That could only mean one thing…but how could this guy be a Soul Reaper? They were supposed to be the badass defenders of the afterlife, not wimps like this. Maybe his image of them were a little exaggerated or only applied to the best. This was a big city. Perhaps if it was too full of badasses, it would end up imploding or something.

"Um, s-sir," the guy spat out after the awkward silence of analyzing. "I-I'm sorry if I interrupted you, b-but d-do you have to look at me so…w-weird."

"Huh?" Carter mumbled before regaining his focus. "Oh, sorry," he tried chuckling off. "It's just that…you're a Soul Reaper, aren't you?"

"Yeah…" the small Reaper answered reluctantly. "Why?"

"Well, you're kind of my first real experience with one." The young soul tried to give a smile to calm his timid helper.

"Oh, s-so you're from outside?"

"Yep! All the way from Rukongai District 57!" Carter answered while giving a triumphant pose.

"Wait, so you came all the way over here to become a Soul Reaper?"

"Yep! I got a little tired of the old rundown village life and decided to start my trek all the way to here!" He then started to lose his confident composure a little bit. "Guess I kind of came at a bad time."

"No kidding," the Reaper agreed solemnly. "That thing out there's been…" Carter could swear he could start to see tears starting to build up in the boy's eyes. "It's been…tough."

Okay, now Carter was feeling bad. Maybe if he changed the subject…

"Hey!" he shouted, causing the boy to jerk up in surprise. "Did you do something to my head?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I saw you were unconscious and had a bit of a bruise on your head. It's part of the Squad Four oath to help all those in need of medical help, no matter the circumstance."

"Well, you sure no how to make someone feel special," the young soul joked.

"Oh, s-sorry if I made it sound too c-casual," the Reaper apologized. "It's just that-"

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you wouldn't help me out if you didn't want to. Learn to take a joke."

"That was a joke?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Sorry, I just didn't get it."

"Get what?" Carter asked.

"The joke. It just didn't sound like one. I still don't really understand it."

"Huh?"

"S-sorry if I offended you," the Reaper apologized once again.

"Man, would you stop apologizing?" Carter said while throwing his hands up. "It's getting really old."

"S-sorry."

The Soul Reaper was shot a glare before trying to recompose his figure. "Sorry. I mean thank you. I mean okay."

"Calm down. Listen, thanks for the healing. I'm Carter Evans," the soul said while offering his hand in gratitude. "And you are…"

"Hanatarou Yamada," the Reaper responded while meekly choosing to accept the stranger's offer.

"Well, nice to meet you, Hanatarou," Carter said with a smile. "So, would you happen to have seen a talking hell butterfly anywhere nearby?"

Hanatarou then retracted his hand immediately. "I'm sorry, but…what?"

Now that Carter thought of it, maybe that was an unusual way to start off a conversation. Still, he needed to find that butterfly! It was the rabbit that pushed him down the sewage hole. Or however the story went. Still, he needed to find it and this guy just happened to be in the same sewer.

"I know this is going to sound a little crazy," he sighed. "But there was this butterfly that swooped from this interdimensional gate and was being followed by an evil hand of darkness coming from the sky. The butterfly swooped up and grabbed to save me from danger, probably the said evil hand, and told me to shut up whenever I complained. A near impaling later, he told me to get into the sewer and I said no, but then he tricked me and hit me and made me sleep and bleed!"

The outburst was met with a long period of sheer silence. They could hear and count the times a drop of water fell.

"I'm sorry, but what?" the Reaper finally managed to ask after a good five minutes of pure silence.

"Listen, I know it sounds a little unbelievable, but-"

"Very unbelievable."

"…Right. But, I assure you, I am not crazy and it was certainly not a dream. I even have the bruise on the back of my head to prove it." Carter then proceeded to rub the back of his head before correcting himself. "Or, you know…I had it. Thanks again, by the way."

"No problem," the weak Reaper reassured. "But still…I doubt a talking butterfly's your main reason for hiding in the sewers. You don't need to create some outlandish story to pretend like you didn't just come here to hide like everyone else."

"But I'm not making it up and-" Wait. "Everyone else?"

Hanatarou gave a blank stare. "Yeah, all of the other survivors down here."

"Survivors?"

Carter was given a small stare of wonderment before the Reaper spoke up again. "Yeah, all of the Reapers that were able to from the Nani Mo down here."

"Nani Mo? What the hell does that mean?" Carter asked.

"Nothing."

"It has to mean something."

"No, it means 'nothing'."

"Believe me, I saw the Hand of Doom. That was definitely something."

"No, Nani Mo translates to the word 'nothing'," Hanatarou explained with a hint of annoyance.

"Oh, what makes it nothing?"

"Well, it's obviously not anything else."

"Just because something isn't anything from any other time doesn't make it nothing."

"It's not nothing, it just isn't anything that's anything else.

Carter could only blink as he tried to relay the argument. "Wait, so since it isn't like anything before, it's nothing?"

"No, it's-" The Reaper then started shaking his head. "We're way off topic here! Are you hiding from the Nani Mo?"

"Well, only after it chased me with the frequently mentioned Hand of Doom."

"So, you have no idea what's going on here?"

"Nope. Just the Hand of Doom and aforementioned hell butterfly."

Hanatarou let out a sigh. "Well, it appears I owe you a bit of an explanation. I'm warning you though, it's a bit of a long one."

"Eh, I got time."

* * *

Omnicron sighed as he returned to the sewers. It had been hell looking for all the data he needed, especially with the Nani Mo randomly choosing when it wanted to sense him. So, as soon as he found whatever documents he wanted, he was immediately greeted by the Hand of Darkness. Damn, that name was stupid. Maybe he should have come up with something better, like…dammit, there was nothing better. Gah, why was he thinking about that when he should be analyzing all of his data!

So, the hell butterfly started by putting all of the anomaly's activity into chronological order. According to the records he was able to find, he was able to find out that the great cloud of unknown energy appeared in the afternoon of August 25, nineteen days after Aizen's betrayal and twelve after Ichigo and his companions left for the World of the Living. Okay, on one hand, this meant it came at a highly volatile point in the timeline but a fortunately less busy one than it could have. He supposed it was better than it appearing in the middle of the Winter War.

Apparently, the cloud didn't do anything for the first day, but began sprouting hands that reached down and absorbed high-ranking Soul Reapers with little effort the next day. Strangely, it didn't waste any time on any of the captains or lieutenants until the next day. Maybe it figured that it'd be best to get rid of any potential reinforcements. Still, that left one major problem: it figured.

It thought. This thing had a plan. It was most likely sentient and had an agenda. This was more than just a simple multiversal anomaly; this was one of the most advanced that he had ever seen. Even worse was that it was also one of the strongest. If anybody as much brushed against the thing, they would be absorbed into its collective darkness. So far, it seemed to have already gotten all of the seated members or anyone else within any of Seireiti or the past ten districts that might pose resistance. Not that one could give much resistance.

Dammit! Still, Omnicron was just glad he could still sense all of the Soul Reapers' reishi within the damned thing. It was all a mesh and was almost impossible to read any familiar signatures, but at least they were still alive. Having the entirety of Seireiti getting killed off in one swoop would cause quite an anomaly on the entirety of his jurisdiction. Luckily, the universe he was currently occupying wasn't completely collapsing just yet, so that was good. Everything could be perfectly fixed if he could get rid of it somehow.

There was still one place he wasn't able to scavenge for information: the 12th Division. The one place that could possibly have the only solution to this whole mess, and it was completely out of his range. It seemed as if the Nani Mo was actually aware that the 12th could have found out what might just do it in, so it chose that exact location to guard with the utmost intensity. He still didn't quite understand why it didn't just destroy all of the information instead of guarding it, but perhaps that would asking too much out of a cloud of darkness.

Omnicron sighed. Perhaps he could find some way to distract the thing just enough to get a clear shot to the main lab. Maybe that wandering fool from earlier could prove to be useful…

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I just want to put it out there that I am not a ghost and have a voice. Kinda didn't want to say anything until the story seemed to make some sense. So, assuming it made as much sense to you as it did me, feel free to review or whatever you like to do. :)**


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